The present invention relates in general to inorganic composite pigments. More particularly, the invention relates to a composite pigment comprising clay and a metal silicate. The pigment is prepared according to a precipitation reaction wherein spherical, hydrous metal silicate particles are precipitated on the planar surfaces of clay particles having a platelet-type structure. Subsequently, when the composite pigment is incorporated in a sheet of paper or the like, the precipitated metal silicate particles act as spacers between individual clay particles to produce void volume or pigment-air interfaces and provide improved optical properties to the paper. The composite pigment so produced has an unexpectedly high light scattering power as compared with that of the base clay material alone, or as compared with that of a simple physical mixture of the two components. Moreover, with only a small amount of the metal silicate component precipitated on the base clay material, the optical efficiency of the composite pigment approaches that of the metal silicate component alone. Finally, based on the experimental data disclosed herein, the composite pigment of the present invention finds particularly good application in the papermaking process.
Clays are familiar components of the papermaking process and the term "clay" as used herein, refers to a class of earthly materials that are used as pigments in the papermaking process as filler materials, sizepress components and in coatings. For instance, as used in the paper industry, the term clay ordinarily refers to Kaolin or china clay, but it also includes attapulgite clay. In general however, the clays useful in the present invention are only those which have a platelet-type structure. Ordinary kaolin clay or kaolinite meets most of the requirements of a good papermaking pigment except for its low index of refraction, on the order of about 1.55. Therefore, clays are often used in the papermaking process in conjunction with more expensive and more optically efficient pigments in order to meet the optical requirements of the final product. In addition, the patent literature contains several teachings for modifying clay to produce a more optically efficient pigment. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,296,637 discloses a process for acidifying a clay/sodium silicate mixture to increase the dry bulking value, oil absorption, and brightening and opacifying properties of clay. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,907 discloses a clay base pigment comprising a mixture of clay with an alkaline earth metal hydroxide that has improved optical properties.
On the other hand, metal silicates are also well known pigments in the paper industry. For instance, calcium silicates are sometimes used as fillers in paper to improve the bulk, opacity and brightness of the final product. However, calcium silicate, like clay, has a fairly low refractive index, on the order of about 1.50. Accordingly, like clay, calcium silicate is often modified or used in conjunction with other more optically efficient pigments to produce high quality papers.
Also, it is known to attach calcium silicate pigment to papermaking pulp to increase the pigment retention. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,094 (among others issued to W. L. Craig), there is disclosed a process for precipitating calcium silicate on cellulosic pulp fibers after pretreating the pulp with a chloride solution. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 2,296,618 discloses a silicate modified titanium pigment with improved stability against heat and light. And, U.S. Pat. No. 2,296,639 discloses a zinc sulfide pigment coated with a metal silicate to produce increased oil absorption with what is said to be excellent surface hiding power. Meanwhile, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,777 (among others assigned to Columbia-Southern Chemical Corporation), there is disclosed a method for preparing a composite pigment with calcium silicate and alumina.
However, none of the above noted patents disclose a composite pigment comprising a metal silicate and clay, and none of the patents known to applicant disclose a precipitation reaction for precipitating a silicate pigment onto the planar surfaces of a platelet-type clay particle to produce a composite pigment having an unexpectedly high optical efficiency.